Low Season

This week is the quietest I have noticed Bangkok’s Red Light Districts this year. Before when I heard talk of it being quiet things didn’t add up whilst I was out and about, it wasn’t quiet it was comfortable. As a customer I found plenty of bargirls in the beer bars and just enough customers to give the bar a bit of an atmosphere. This is a tourists dream come true if they want to have some fun with the ladies.

I could head into a number of go-go bars and see the hottest dancers still on stage just before midnight. During high season they would have already been barfined, you wouldn't even know that she existed. This is the best time of the year for single expats or tourist already here for hitting the bars. Take a look at the Bangkok Bunnies dancers this Wednesday night (pic). How hot are they?

It’s a different story for the owners of the bars since they want a steady stream of tourists all year round. There is no need whinging about it. With any business you should know times are going to be tough during the low season, therefore you plan ahead accordingly for the whole year. The amount of revenue the bars make during high season if managed correctly should be more than enough to see them through the lean times. If not then they more than likely have a poor bar or they have made a fatal mistake of signing a lease beforehand where the rent is unreasonably high per month.

The best beer bars/go-go bars are still getting a crowd. It’s the rest that are feeling the pinch. The test is midweek.

This Wednesday night when I arrived Nana Soi 4 (9:45 pm) the first bar I came across was the Morning Night Bar (cool bar) which was doing okay but the next bar Stumble Inn was the quietest I have ever seen this bar. All I saw was bargirls and waitresses standing/sitting around. At BigDogs you could get the best seats to hangout and people watch your night away. K&S Bar was quiet, even Hooters looked down on numbers. The Tiki Bar which is positioned well as you enter Nana Plaza had enough customers inside due to their location.

The Nana Beer Garden was super quiet yet Bangkok Bunnies outside bar was busy. You will notice a familiar theme going on here and that is, the better bars are doing okay during low season and the rest are not. I headed up to Billboard who have a new neon sign (looks good). I went inside for about an hour, of course they are busy. The women in the Jacuzzi are in fine form tonight with plenty of energy and looked very erotic. I don’t know how any single guys can hack it without barfining one of them? After watching the show you can’t tell me you just go home and sleep….FFS.

I do like a construction site and so do women. Well that's what it seems like at Jail Birdz who are going through some major renovations just now. Not to worry this bar is alive. The dancers are having a great time dancing on tables, in the Jacuzzi and on the main dance floor……. I'm talking about getting down and having a good time. If you’re at Nana Plaza then do yourself a favor and head on in.

There is a good time to be had at Nana Plaza you just got to know where to go. Stick your head in and do a runner if no ones inside since you might be just one bar away from having a good time. As I mentioned last week about the ladyboys and the groin grabbing well it happened again this time whilst passing Charades Ladyboy Bar. I don’t think this is a tactic that works. It isn’t going to turn some guy gay enough to go party with some ladyboys.

You really know it’s quiet when you walk through Soi Cowboy and the Tilac Bar have people trying to entice tourists into their bar. I have never come across that in the past. The bars that leave you alone as you pass are Sam’s 2000 Bar, Cactus Bar, Shadow Bar, Shark Bar,Baccara and Tilac (now 99%).

If you like tattoos well how cool is this back tattoo on one of the dancers (pic) at the Lighthouse gogo bar.

If tattoos aren't your cup of tea well she has a smoking hot body as do more than a few dancers at the Lighthouse.

Soi Cowboy seemed a bit lopsided this Wednesday night looking at the outside bars. Several bars were defiantly on the very quiet side eg: Tilac Bar, Afterskool Bar, Cactus Bar and Fanny’s Bar. The busy bars really stood out tonight, one bar in particular was a big surprise and that was the Five Star Bar. I noticed they had a mix of regular women and a handful of ladyboys out front. This tactic seems to work for them.

I got irked once whilst walking through Soi Cowboy past the Dundee Bar, which I had intended to go on in one day soon. A bargirl out front tried to entice me inside but I just told her ‘not tonight’. What I got back was an instant transformation into a hardened bargirl that you wouldn't want to spend more than .0001 of a second of your time with.

Bargirls like this do more harm than good for their respective bars. If she was polite then next time people might think about going in for a drink, but not now. All I thought when I walked away was ‘well I’m not going in there anytime soon’.

I found a major traffic jam between the Midnite Bar and the Sahara gogo bar who both had their fair share of gogo dancers and ladyboys out front. The ladyboys at these bars do look a lot more feminine than what I am seeing at Nana Plaza lately. It does help that they are wearing a dress and not a bikini. Where more often than not you will see a sack of potatoes hanging out the rear. Yeah choke on that.

Nearing midnight if you use the Skytrain a decision has to be made where do you want to spend the rest of your night. Hit Patpong, Nahh not when it’s quiet like tonight. If it was around 10 pm at least you would have an exit strategy without having to use a taxi. Patpong is one place that can feel a bit boring if quiet, especially Soi 2.

If I’m at either Soi Cowboy or Nana Plaza then I will usually pick one of my favorite bars and stick with them, rather than go hunting for a good time. Tonight the best option is go home. I’ve done what I came to do. Job Done.